Judge, 1907-09-14 · page 5 of 16
Judge — September 14, 1907 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a comic strip about a character named "Nervy Nat" encountering a motorcycle—then a novel and dangerous technology. The humor derives from early-20th-century anxiety about automobiles and motorcycles as unpredictable, menacing machines that could cause chaos. The strip shows Nat repeatedly endangered by the motorcycle: he's nearly hit by it, chased by it, and nearly thrown from various structures. The joke plays on contemporary fears of motorized vehicles as chaotic forces threatening traditional order, plus Nat's comically bad luck. The title character appears to be Judge magazine's recurring protagonist—a hapless everyman whose misadventures satirized modern life's hazards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
2. Nervy Nat—'Holy smoke! if you can't steer around a steer, go over and a motor-cycleat that! Here's a go, Algernon. It's a much better means its ridgepole, I didn't know these cussed machines could get up speed so of transportation than the sole-leather express. Me for the chuggety-chug!”” soon after pressing the button, How In blazes do you stop it? This will give me locomotor-ataxia."* 3. Nervy Nat—“‘Low bridge, Ezra! This is the Nervy Nat Iimited, with 4. Nervy Nat—' Gee! the race-course at the county fair! Well, I'm en- no stops between here and the devilknowswhere.”” tered for the grand-stand sweep-stakes. Chug, you brute! I wish some one ‘ would arrest me for speeding.” 5. Nervy Nar—'tJust my luck! I should be getting several hundred 6. Nervy Nat (as he is shot into a chair)—"' Hello, girls!"* plunks a week from this clrcus to do this as an attraction. I wonder if the Chorus oF cirts—' Goodness gracious! who are you?" Capitol at Washington, or the monument, is on this line, Nothing can stop Nexvy Nat—"‘ Use all the profanity you like, ladies. As for my Identity, me now.” 1m descended from a little rag doll, How are all the Ruffy Fluffies? And ‘ please tell me, is my head on straight? Algernon, where have you been?” NO. IS—NERVY NAT HAS A THRILLING EXPERIENCE WITH A MOTOR-CYCLE. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, FUBLISMERS, 275 FOURTH “AVE, NEW YORK. Nore.—The First Series of Nervy Nat's Adventures is now ready, handsomely bound, in book-form. Price, 75 cents ; 10 cents additional for postage ‘when ordered by mail. Address JuDGR CoMPany, 225 Fourth Avenuc, New York. comicbooks.com